Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on freedom of religion in Tibet.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is concerned about human rights violations in Tibet. These include restrictions on freedom of religion or belief and on freedom of assembly and association, reports of forced labour, and reports that boarding schools are being used to assimilate Tibetan children into Han culture.
We consistently raise human rights issues with the Chinese authorities, including in relation to Tibet. I raised human rights during my visit to China in April, and the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting in February with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, including in January at China's Universal Periodic Review, and in March as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support coastal communities with tourism industries in summer 2024.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the central role of our coastal communities in the tourism sector.
This is why on Heritage Day in March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it will be launching a dedicated fund to support enhancements to our seaside heritage, to help protect and rejuvenate coastal assets which are in need of further support.
At the Autumn Statement 2023, the Government also announced an extension to the 75% business rate relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties for 2024-25.
We have also supported coastal communities to level up through dedicated funding under the Coastal Communities Fund, while the Levelling Up Fund has provided around £1 billion to projects in coastal areas. Over £400 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is going to lead local authorities within or serving coastal areas.
Across this Spending Review period, the Government has allocated over £100m to the British Tourist Authority to support VisitBritain and VisitEngland with marketing activity that includes championing visiting Britain’s coastline.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS has been a member of the Disability Confident scheme since 2017 and had its accreditation as a Disability Confident Leader renewed in April 2024. Activity to support our membership of the scheme, and disabled colleagues more generally, is mainstreamed into the work of the People and Workplace team including health & safety, recruitment, HR policy, inclusion and career progression.
During the time that DCMS has been part of the scheme the proportion of disabled colleagues has increased from 8% in 2021 to 12.2% in 2023 (2024 data not yet published). DCMS won a Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative award for Creating Disability Confident Recruiters in 2023 and analysis of our recruitment data for 2023/24 shows that a higher proportion of disabled candidates were successful at the sift stage compared to the proportion that applied. Analysis of our retention data shows no difference between retention rates for staff with a declared disability and those without. To maximise retention we provide workplace adjustments, access to supportive staff networks, an employee assistance programme and targeted development for people with declared disabilities to ensure they can thrive in their career at DCMS.
Further steps we are taking include:
Operating fortnightly application and interview advice workshops to support candidates.
Increased promotion of reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and education of recruitment panels on how to support reasonable adjustments.
Developing an inclusive recruitment workshop for recruitment panels.
Launching a sponsorship programme for people with disabilities.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish her Department's (a) report on the state of conservation of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and (b) package of information associated with that report.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government is fully committed to protecting the World Heritage Sites for which we are responsible, and we continue to engage closely with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and the World Heritage Committee to ensure that we are able to meet their requests as far as is reasonably practicable. This includes ongoing dialogue regarding the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site and the A303 Scheme, ahead of the World Heritage Committee meeting on 21–31 July this year.
We anticipate the full State of Conservation reporting and associated information will be published on UNESCO’s website shortly before the Committee meeting.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the growth of creative industries in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and support another 1 million jobs by 2030. This was set out in June 2023 in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which was accompanied by £77 million of new funding to support the sector’s growth. This is on top of a range of tax reliefs introduced or expanded since 2010 covering film, television, animation, video games, orchestras, theatres and more.
Creative Industries GVA grew at more than twice the rate of UK GVA between 2010 and 2022 (50.3% vs 21.5%), and helped support more than a million new jobs since 2010.
Measures in the Sector Vision include the £28.4 million Create Growth Programme (CGP) to support high-growth creative businesses in twelve English regions outside London to scale up and become investment ready. The CGP is being delivered in twelve local area partnerships, including Suffolk.
It also includes £1 million for the Creative Careers Programme, which raises young people’s awareness of creative careers and pathways by providing specialist advice and information through a range of industry-led engagement. It is delivered in regions around England, including Suffolk.
The Arts Council England Investment Programme is also investing £444 million each year into arts and culture in England. The Arts Council is providing around £5.36 million per year to cultural organisations in Suffolk, of which over £1.6m allocated to cultural organisations in Coastal Suffolk.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s publication entitled Government response to Online Advertising Programme consultation, updated on 25 July 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the evidence base for the (a) origin and (b) location of in-scope online advertising; and how that evidence will inform future policy decisions.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the Government’s response to the 2022 Online Advertising Programme consultation, the configuration of the market at present can mean that accessing comprehensive data on harms associated with online advertising can be challenging. We have already commissioned external research papers, conducted a call for evidence, and completed a public consultation, to seek to address this.
The Online Advertising Taskforce was established to encourage actors across the advertising industry to improve standards and build the evidence base on advertising harms and how they enter the supply chain, in advance of future legislation. As part of this work, DCMS is undertaking research on online users’ experiences of advertising harms. The Taskforce will publish a progress report on its work in the autumn.
The publication in due course of the second consultation on the Online Advertising Programme will also provide an opportunity for respondents to contribute additional evidence.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by her Department were made in Britain.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Car service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has taken steps to promote cultural relations between the UK and the Republic of North Macedonia.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport promotes cultural relations around the world, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Department for Business & Trade, and the British Council to ensure that culture and the creative industries are embedded in the UK’s diplomatic activities and that the importance of these sectors – which contribute so much to our economy, our way of life, and our international reputation – are properly reflected.
The British Embassy in Skopje has prioritised the promotion of bilateral cultural relations and continues to build links with local cultural institutions and artists, particularly those with connections to the UK.
The British Council promotes exchange between the Western Balkans and the UK’s education sector and creative industries, and supports people and institutions in developing enterprising cultural offerings. In May, for instance, the British Council hosted a conference in North Macedonia for 200 English teachers on the future of English.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total value was of grant funding awarded from the Heritage High Street Fund to projects in (a) Suffolk Coastal constituency and (b) Suffolk since 2019.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The taxpayer-funded High Streets Heritage Action Zones programme ran from 2019 to 2024, operating in England only, and administered by Historic England. The programme has funded the transformation and restoration of over 60 high streets, creating economic growth and improving quality of life in these areas.
There was one programme in Suffolk, in Lowestoft. The total grant funding awarded from 2019 to 2023 was £804,926.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the corporate report entitled Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2022, published on 25 April 2024, if he will make an assessment of the reasons for increases in incidents involving failure to provide adequate care for animals.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. In 2022 the Animals in Science Regulation Unit introduced improvements in how non-compliance is reported, which includes self-reporting. The self-reporting of non-compliance by establishments is vital to assure a culture of compliance. The increase in numbers of reported non-compliances in the annual report was driven by increased self-reporting.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit will further evaluate trends in non-compliance as its regulatory reform programme develops. Every case is investigated, and remedies and sanctions applied according to its published non-compliance policy.